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outcome of a class exercise, which will vary according to their reactions and responses.
The real-life simulations change from day to day. Students' motivation to learn comes
from their desire to communicate in meaningful ways about meaningful topics.
Margie S. Berns, an expert in the field of communicative language teaching, writes in
explaining Firth's view that "language is interaction; it is interpersonal activity and has a
clear relationship with society. In this light, language study has to look at the use
(function) of language in context, both its linguistic context (what is uttered before and
after a given piece of discourse) and its social, or situational, context (who is speaking,
what their social roles are, why they have come together to speak)" (Berns, 1984, p. 5).
The exercise puts students in a real-world listening situation where they must report
information overheard. Most likely they have an opinion of the topic, and a class
discussion could follow, in the target language, about their experiences and viewpoints.
Communicative exercises such as this motivate the students by treating topics of their
choice, at an appropriately challenging level.
Another exercise taken from the same source is for beginning students of Spanish. In
"Listening for the Gist," students are placed in an everyday situation where they must
listen to an authentic text.
"Directions." Have students listen to the following announcement to decide what the
speaker is promoting.
(The announcement can be read by the teacher or played on tape.) Then ask students
to circle the letter of the most appropriate answer on their copy, which consists of the
following multiple-choice options:
a. a taxi service
b. a hotel
c. an airport
d. a restaurant
(Source: Adapted from Ontario Assessment Instrument Pool, 1980, Item No. 13019)
That the teacher be a patient listener is the basic requirement" (p. 98).
The observation by Gerngross on the role of the teacher as one of listener rather than
speaker brings up several points to be discussed in the next portion of this digest.
Because of the increased responsibility to participate, students may find they gain
confidence in using the target language in general. Students are more responsible
managers of their own learning (Larsen-Freeman, 1986).
Pattison, P. (1987). "The communicative approach and classroom realities." (EDRS No.
ED 288 407, 17 pages)
Sheils, J. (1986). "Implications of the communicative approach for the role of the
teacher." (EDRS No. ED 268 831, 7 pages)
Swain, M., & Canale, M. (1982). "The role of grammar in a communicative approach to
second language teaching and testing." (EDRS No. ED 221 026, 8 pages) (not available
separately; available from EDRS as part of ED 221 023, 138 pages)
Willems, G., & Riley, P. (Eds.). (1984). "Communicative foreign language teaching and
the training of foreign language teachers." (EDRS No. ED 273 102, 219 pages)
Readers may also wish to consult the following journal articles for additional information
on communicative language teaching.
Dolle, D., & Willems, G. M. (1984). The communicative approach to foreign language
teaching: The teacher's case. "European Journal of Teacher Education," 7(2), 145-54.
Morrow, K., & Schocker, M. (1987). Using texts in a communicative approach. "ELT
Journal," 41(4), 248-56.
Oxford, R. L., et al. (1989). Language learning strategies, the communicative approach,
and their classroom implications. "Foreign Language Annals," 22(1), 29-39.
Swan, M. (1985). A critical look at the communicative approach (1). "ELT Journal,"
39(1), 2-12.
Swan, M. (1985). A critical look at the communicative approach (2). "ELT Journal,"
39(2), 76-87.
Gerngross, G., & Puchta, H. (1984). Beyond notions and functions: Language teaching
or the art of letting go. In S. Savignon & M. S. Berns (Eds.), "Initiatives in communicative
language teaching. A book of readings" (pp. 89-107). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
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This report was prepared with funding from the Office of Educational Research and
Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under contract no. RI88062010. The
opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of OERI or ED.